1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display device that is capable of preventing damage to optical sheets and a liquid crystal panel due to vibration and impact.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, various flat panel displays, which solve the disadvantages of a cathode ray tube, i.e., reduce weight and volume, are on the rise. These flat panel displays include a liquid crystal display, a field emission display, a plasma display panel, a light emitting display, etc.
A liquid crystal display device controls optical transmissivity using an electric field to display images. To this end, the liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel having liquid crystal cells, a backlight unit for irradiating light to the liquid crystal panel, and a drive circuit for driving the liquid crystal cells.
The liquid crystal panel of the liquid crystal display device is a non-emissive element that displays images through the adjustment of the amount of light incident from the outside, and therefore, the liquid crystal display device needs an additional light source, i.e., the backlight unit, for irradiating light to the liquid crystal panel. Based on the installation position of the backlight unit, the backlight unit may be classified as an edge-type backlight unit or a direct-type backlight unit.
The edge-type backlight unit includes lamps disposed at opposite sides of the liquid crystal panel for generating light, a light guide plate disposed below the liquid crystal panel for guiding the light generated from the lamps to the liquid crystal panel, lamp housings disposed at sides of the respective lamps for protecting the respective lamps, and optical sheets disposed on the lamp housings and the light guide plate for uniformly transmitting light to the liquid crystal panel.
Recently, the thickness of the liquid crystal display device has been reduced. As a result, the distance between the liquid crystal panel and the optical sheets has decreased. For this reason, the liquid crystal display device is designed to prevent the contact between the liquid crystal panel and the optical sheets. However, the liquid crystal panel comes into contact with the optical sheets due to the droop of the liquid crystal panel at the middle thereof.
Friction may occur between the liquid crystal panel and the optical sheets, which are in contact with each other, due to vibration and impact caused during transportation or vibration tests of the liquid crystal panel. The optical sheets, scratched by such friction, deteriorate the display quality of the liquid crystal display device.